Phillies Hire Wally Joyner As Assistant Hitting Coach

Phillies new assistant hitting coach Wally Joyner while working with the Padres in 2008. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

The Phillies have completed their two-part hitting coach process.

Today, the Phillies found their assistant hitting coach, choosing Wally Joyner over a handful of candidates that reportedly included former Phillies Matt Stairs and Mike Sweeney.

Joyner played 16 seasons in the Majors with four different teams, hitting .289 with an on-base percentage of .368. The Phillies hope that Joyner, along with Steve Henderson, can impost a philosophy that involves patience at the plate.

“The system will be better with an assistant in so much that different guys take information in different ways,” Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro said. “I think it’s important for our players to see different points of view and get information in different ways.”

Joyner was the hitting coach for the Padres in the 2007 and 2008 seasons. But for the last four years, he was working out of the country and out of Major League Baseball

During those four years, Joyner has worked as the lead hitting instructor for MLB International’s Elite-level development programs in Italy and Brazil. He also served as China’s hitting coach in the latest World Baseball Classic.